Malaysian palm oil producer FGV soars nearly 29% after surviving Felda's bid

Kuala Lumpur

SHARES in Malaysia's FGV Holdings soared nearly 29 per cent on Tuesday in their biggest single-day jump in more than five years, after state-owned Felda failed in its bid to take the world's largest crude palm oil producer private.

The Federal Land Development Authority, or Felda, in December proposed a mandatory takeover offer after agreeing to a deal to increase its stake in FGV.

Felda only obtained 81 per cent equity interest in FGV by Monday evening when the offer deadline to take the company private ended, according to an exchange filing.

Felda planned to take FGV private, which required it and parties acting in concert to hold at least 90 per cent of FGV shares following the takeover offer, Felda's offer document in January showed.

FGV's stock jumped as much as 28.5 per cent on Tuesday, its largest intraday jump since Sept 14, 2015.

Both FGV and Felda did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

FGV's independent directors had in January urged investors to reject the takeover bid, saying its offer price of RM1.30 (S$0.42) was unfair.

Independent adviser RHB Investment Bank had also called the offer price, representing an 8.5-18.8 per cent discount to FGV's fair value, unfair earlier, but deemed the deal reasonable.

MIDF Research said the takeover attempt could have fallen through because of the unattractive offer price.

"With the current crude palm oil price... at an all-time high, minority shareholders might have been seeking a higher valuation," it said in a note, referring to benchmark palm oil futures that breached RM4,000 per tonne.

FGV listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in 2012 as an investor favourite at an offer price of RM4.55 per share in what was hailed as the world's second largest initial public offer after Facebook.

But its shares have since tumbled as the company grappled with financial and governance issues. REUTERS